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University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law - Summer 2013

mentorships
Neil
FoREster
+
Jenn y Bain
As Jenny Bain, ’12, has learned, the
Network can provide a meaningful
entree into the legal world. Although
the program is not designed as a job-
finding resource, its emphasis on
networking helped her to build new
professional relationships that ultimately
led to her first job.
Bain graduated with distinction from
Pacific McGeorge, where she earned
a Capital Certificate in Public Law &
Policy. During her last semester, she
joined the Alumni Mentor Network,
which was being ramped up with an
online database of volunteer mentors.
She knew she wanted to go into family
law. Through the program, she met Neil
Forester, ’04, who heads the Family
Law Division at the Sacramento firm
Goyette & Associates, Inc.
“Neil was a great help,” she says. “We
got along really well.” Through subsequent
connections that arose through
the mentoring relationship, Bain was
hired in November as an associate with
the Law Office of Cecil and Cianci,
PC, a family law firm in Roseville
composed of Pacific McGeorge alumni.
Networking was the key, she says.
“It’s all about timing and making sure
a lot of people know you are looking for
a job,” she says.
Forester, who is a certified family
law specialist through the California
State Bar Board of Legal Specialization,
recalls that as a law student, he did not
personally know any lawyers and had
no professional mentors. He left a career
in the restaurant business, finished law
school at 35 and worked for eight years
at Downey Brand LLP before joining
Goyette & Associates last year. When
he learned about the Pacific McGeorge
Alumni Mentor Network, he knew he
wanted to sign up.
“I thought mentoring would be a
great way to give back,” says Forester,
who received a full-tuition scholarship
for all three years of law school as
a member of the first Anthony M.
Kennedy Fellowship Class. “I wanted
to help other young lawyers interested
in family law,” he says.
Over the past two years, the mentoring
program has grown into a robust
network, says Lisa Wilkins, director
of career development at Pacific
McGeorge. The online system enables
students to reach out to as many as five
alumni mentors, and the process gives
students firsthand experience in developing
their professional correspondence
and communication skills.
“The students are dealing with working
lawyers in many cases,” Wilkins
says. “It’s very good practice.”
Currently, the Network has 526
alumni mentors from 29 states and five
other countries, says Brent Bynum, a
CDO career adviser. They represent 71
fields and practice areas. Currently, 157
students from Pacific McGeorge’s day
and evening programs participate.
“It’s all about helping students get
exposure to the practice of law,” Bynum
says. “In these tricky job-seeking times,
it all comes back to the basics of networking
and who you know.”
Bynum adds that Bain and Forester’s
experience highlights the friendly and
supportive environment at Pacific
McGeorge. “It’s indicative of the
Pacific McGeorge spirit,” he said. “It’s
very apropos.”
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